Get This Party Started
by shadows59
Summary: Part 3 of Finding Heaven. Buffy, Xander and Anya reveal their new relationship to the rest of the gang.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Get This Party Started

By: Shadows59

Summary: Part 3 of Finding Heaven. Buffy, Xander and Anya reveal their new relationship to the rest of the gang. Category: B/X/Ay, T/S, W/Amy

Disclaimer: Yeah, Joss and co will right about a threesome any day now. Characters are not mine.

Spoilers: More altered Season Six up following Tabla Rasa.

Notes. Third Part of my Finding Heaven Series. Sequel to Finding Heaven and So Complicated.

Chapter 1

It was the wheezing that woke Buffy up. It wasn't loud enough or regular enough to be annoying, it was just a sound that was out of place. And since in her line of work odd sounds could get her killed, it was enough to wake her up.

She almost panicked when she realized she was naked, especially when she felt the arm that was wrapped around her waist and the warm and also naked body that was pressing softly against her back, but the worry died as everything from last night came back to her. She traced her hand down the arm, and then wrapped her fingers around the lithe hand that was hanging just above her belly button. She stretched and finally opened her eyes.

"Morning," she whispered.

"Morning," Xander whispered back. He was leaning on his hand and just watching her. Her eyes traced over his bare chest to the sheet that covered his waist. Buffy turned and followed the arm back to Anya, who was still wheezing softly into her pillow. "Give her a few more minutes," Xander warned. "She can be grumpy in the morning."

"I can't believe she wheezes."

Xander grinned and shrugged. "I snore, she wheezes. We sang a song about it once."

"You're kidding."

"Would I lie to you?"

"Never." Buffy leaned on her free arm while she rubbed Anya's hand with the other. "I can't believe we're going to do this," she said, more than half to herself.

"Having second thoughts?" Xander asked as he cupped Buffy's chin.

"No. You?"

He shook his head. "I'm just really hoping this isn't a dream. And if it is I don't want to wake up. I love you, Buffy."

"And I love you, too." Buffy said and they kissed.

Then she felt the tiny bed rustle and heard Anya ask through a yawn, "What about me?"

"Always," Xander said.

"Then what are we doing talking?" With that Anya leaned forward and started kissing Buffy's neck while she slipped her hand out of Buffy's and slid it up to cup Buffy's breast.

Buffy closed her eyes and moaned. "We love a very smart woman."

"Never a doubt in my mind," Xander said as he leaned down to Buffy.

A good while later. Anya lay back down onto her pillow and sighed. "We definitely need a bigger bed."

Buffy snuggled against Anya's back, both to be close and because she was hanging half-off the bed. "How big?"

"I don't know. Do they come in Emperor size?" Anya asked Xander who had somehow managed to end up on the opposite side of the bed he had started on.

"No. I think King's the biggest."

"Well, phooey," Anya muttered. Then she got a gleam in her eye and ran her hand over Xander's chest. "You could build one."

Xander shook his head. "I could build a frame and the best head and footboards you've ever seen, but most mattresses aren't made of wood."

"Phooey," Anya repeated.

Buffy didn't want to move, but she had a bad feeling. In the end she rolled over and groped blindly across the nightstand until she found her watch. She tried to read it, but the room was too dark so she reached for the light despite the muttering that came from the other two people in the bed so she could check the time. "I think we have a bigger problem. When's checkout?"

"At 11:00. Why?" Xander asked.

"It's 10:30," Buffy said and looked around the dank room. "And as special as this place is, I don't think we want to spend the rest of the day here."

"No. Besides, the rest of the gang are probably worried sick about us," Xander added, but he didn't move. Neither did the two girls. Then the light flickered and went out. "I think that's a sign."

Anya giggled in the dark. "Good enough for me."

But before anything could get started, or continued, there was a loud banging on the door. "Don't think you get extra time just because the powers out! Either get out at eleven or pay for another day!" The manager shouted through the door. Then five seconds later they heard him again as he said the same thing to the people in the next room.

"It's a sign all right," Buffy sighed as she slid out of bed and started digging through the many piles of clothes that were on the floor and separating them out as best she could.

Xander sat up and took the pants Buffy had handed to him. "Man, the power's been wild lately. Javier's getting pissed because it's put work back a week."

"Just more hell mouthy fun," Buffy said as her hand ran across something made of silk. She was suddenly glad that the room was too dark for anyone to see her blush as she picked up the panties and tried to decide who they belonged to. "So, what are we going to do?"

"Send an angry letter to Gray-out Davis?"

"You know that's not what she meant," Anya said to Xander while she scooped up her wedding dress, which was sitting in a lump on the floor. "She wants to know is when we're going to tell everyone else about us?" Anya frowned as she slipped back into the dress, it didn't seem quite so magical as it had the day before. That and the buttons in the back seemed much more complicated in the dark. "Now I know why its customary to only wear this once."

"But it was so much fun getting you out of it," Buffy said as she turned to help, though her hands did slip a little low a few times before she was done, not that Anya complained.

"I think it's safe to say we're going to be the best dressed people to ever stagger out of this dive," Xander said as he pulled on his shirt. Then he found his least favorite article of clothing and shoved it into his pocket. "Sorry, Das Cumberbund."

"I don't think we should tell anyone right now," Buffy said as she buttoned the last button, then turned and pulled on her blouse.

"Why not?" Anya asked as she looked over her shoulder. "You not regretting this, are you?"

"No," Buffy answered with a sigh. "But I can just imagine how Dawn'll react."

"And Willow," Xander added.

"She'll probably just be jealous we topped her coming out," Anya said as she stood up and stepped into her shoes. "It's not like we have to announce it right now."

"Good enough," Xander said as he stood up and stretched his back. "How about we go home, get cleaned up and put on some real clothes. And maybe take a nap. The company was great, but double beds were not meant for three people."

"Which home?" Anya asked.

"You two go back to you're apartment and I'll meet you there after I let everyone know we're all right," Buffy answered as they all went to the door.

"Don't take too long," Xander said.

"I won't," Buffy promised and kissed the two of them goodbye.

"Hello?" Buffy said into the empty living room as she walked in. At first no one answered, then there was a thundering on the staircase as Dawn and Willow came running down.

"Did you find them? Are they all right?" Dawn asked in a rush.

"Where were they?" Willow added. "Amy and I tried a locator spell, but…"

"They're fine," Buffy cut in as soon as she could. "They're back at their apartment now."

"Together?" Dawn asked with an eager smile. "You got them back together?"

"Yup. Everything's just the way it's supposed to be," Buffy said with a very satisfied smile.

Willow eyed Buffy's rumbled clothing. "It looks like you had to go all Xena and wrestle them into the same room to get them talking."

"There was talking," Buffy admitted. And wrestling, but she kept that to herself. When she yawned it was as much to get away as it was she was tired. She turned and headed for the staircase. "I'm beat. Don't wake me up unless the Hellmouth opens."

"I'll get you for dinner," Willow promised. "Then you're going to tell me everything."

"Sounds good," Buffy said and went up the stairs.

She was just going around the corner when she heard Dawn ask Willow, "Do you think they're going to try and get married again?" Buffy froze and didn't move again for a long time.

Finally she just shrugged. "Can't worry about everything today." With that she went to bed. Not that actually getting to bed helped. She couldn't get comfortable no matter how much she tossed and turned. Finally she realized what was missing and got up, threw on some clothes and all but ran down the stairs.

Dawn looked up from the homework she had spread across the table. "Where are you going?"

Buffy slowed down but didn't stop. "I just remembered I have to check something at the shop."

An eager smile spread across Dawn's face. "A creature feature?"

"What? No. No demons. I have to check on… Bills! Yeah. Big mail day," she said and leaned down to kiss a befuddled Dawn on the cheek. "I'll be home for dinner, promise!" With that she was out the door.

"But it's Sunday!" Dawn called out after her, but Buffy was gone.

It was usually a fifteen-minute walk to Xander and Anya's, but Buffy made it in seven. "Where were you?" Anya asked as she opened the door.

Buffy looked over Anya's puffy white pajamas with a small grin. The puritan clothing wasn't exactly what Buffy had pictured Anya sleeping in. From all the stories she expected it to be something red and lacy. "Couldn't sleep," Buffy explained as she walked into the dark apartment.

"Neither could we. You can borrow one of Xander's shirts if you want, or I have another pair of pajamas," Anya said as she grabbed Buffy's hand and pulled her to the bedroom.

Buffy scowled at the idea of spending that much time getting ready for bed. "A shirt sounds good to me. Oh, and we're invited to dinner," Buffy added as she walked into the bedroom. Xander was already in bed and, despite what Anya said, snoring.

Anya grabbed one of Xander's less blinding Hawaiian t-shirts out of a drawer and handed it to Buffy. "I've already set the alarm," she said as she sat down on the bed and slid over next to Xander. Buffy changed quickly and joined Anya and Xander in bed. Soon they were all sound asleep.

For the first time since she got back, Buffy didn't dream of heaven.

Buffy found more and more excuses to sleep over for the next week. Of course with her life she didn't have to try all that hard to come up with them. After all, she did patrol late, and it wasn't her fault that the apartment was closer to town than the house. By the end of the week Willow and Dawn used the one thing they knew would get Buffy home. Guilt.

"It's good of you to drop by," Dawn said when Buffy walked in.

"I haven't been gone that much," Buffy protested.

"Yeah, and the Titanic was just a little delayed," Dawn snapped back. Then she sighed and hugged her sister. "I've just missed you. I'm not used to being left alone."

Buffy grabbed Dawn by the arms and held her out to look at her. "Who are you and what did you do to my sister? You know, the one who kept saying she didn't need a babysitter?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Very funny. Notice how I'm not laughing."

Buffy let Dawn go and walked into the dinning room. She sniffed what was coming out of the kitchen and her stomach gurgled its unease. "What're we having?"

"Willow and Amy made spaghetti," Dawn said.

"It smells good," Buffy said and tried to smile as she sat down at the table. "Who's eating with us?"

"Well, Xander and Anya. And I invited Tara and Spike, but they're not coming. I think she's still fighting with Willow."

Buffy's mouth twisted in distaste as she remembered the scene they made at the wedding. "I don't blame her. For a while at the wedding I thought they were going to try to kill each other."

Dawn giggled. "Like Xander's family and the demons? Man that was a mess. But who would've thought that demons had better manners?"

Buffy joined in laughing. "But the Harris' kicked their asses, if everyone fought like them I wouldn't have a job."

"Of course they did. The demons were just evil. They didn't stand a chance. How did Xander come out so well?"

"His theory is he was adopted."

"I'll go with that."

After that they sat in an uncomfortable silence that was only broken for a few awkward questions about school. Buffy wanted to tell her sister about everything, but she knew she shouldn't do it alone. She was massively relived when Anya and Xander walked in.

"Bout time you got here," Buffy said as Anya hung up her coat and the two of them walked over. She almost leaned up to kiss them hello, but then she remembered Dawn was there and just sank back into her seat. Xander and Anya shared a look of regret as they sat down on either side of her. But she did smile when she felt Xander reach down under the table and squeeze her hand.

"Sorry, there was a mess at the site that I had to clean up," Xander said.

"Really? Anything cool happen?" Dawn asked.

"Nah. Someone spilled a wheelbarrow full of concrete and made a hell of a mess." Xander looked over the empty table and rubbed his stomach. "Where's the food? I could eat a horse."

"So what else is new?" Dawn asked impishly.

Buffy, Xander and Anya suddenly decided that the artwork on the walls was fascinating.

Fortunately Willow stuck her head out and saved them. "Everyone's here! Just in time to try a Willow Rosenberg exclusive!" She said as she walked out carrying a big bowl of spaghetti.

"Spaghetti and meatballs isn't exactly a bolt from on high, Will," Amy said as she followed carrying the salad.

"It is for me," Xander said as he licked his lips. "It smells great guys." He barely waited for them to put the food down before he started scooping it onto his plate.

"Yeah, great," Buffy said warily as she looked at the food. She started to reach for the salad when she heard the slurp of the spaghetti as Xander scooped out some more and it was too much. She gulped hard and pushed her chair away from the table. "Excuse me," she managed to get out before she was off and running to the stairs. Everyone jumped when they heard the bathroom door slam shut.

"Well, I think its good," Xander joked, but he looked worried.

"Maybe she has that flu that's going around town. Half the people in my class were out with it last week," Amy said.

"She's a big faker," Dawn said as she filled her plate until it rivaled Xander's. "I remember the big drama the last time she was sick."

"Dawn, she almost died!" Xander said.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm telling you, she just wants attention."

Xander glanced at Anya, who nodded and started to get up. "I'll go check on her," Anya and Willow said together. They stared at each other, both girls' half standing above their seats.

Finally Willow sighed and sat back down. "Fine, you go," she said. Anya nodded and started to head to the stairs, but she was still close enough to hear Willow mutter, "Not like I'm the best friend or anything."

Anya just ignored her as she went to the bathroom door and knocked. "Buffy, are you all right?"

"No," Buffy said and sounded perfectly miserable as she flushed the toilet.

"Can I come in?"

"Are you sure you want to?"

"I can guarantee I've seen worse. There was this one man I cursed to get fatter and fatter until he finally expl…"

"Anya, please!"

"Oh," Anya said as she blinked quickly. "Sorry."

She heard Buffy sigh even through the door. "All right, you can come in. Just no stories, okay?"

"Okay," Anya said as she opened the door. Buffy was sitting on the floor in front of the toilet with her head in her hands. Anya took one look at her and went to work. She got a washcloth from under the sink and soaked it in cold water, then she sat down behind Buffy and gently pulled her back until Buffy's head was resting in her lap. "What's wrong? The dinner seemed perfectly acceptable," she asked as she held the washcloth against Buffy's forehead with one hand and ran her other through Buffy's sweaty hair.

"Please don't mention food." Buffy winced as she got her stomach back under control. "I don't know. I felt a little queasy at breakfast, but I just blamed that on Xander's Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs…"

"Maybe Dawn is right and you are germ ridden. You do look icky."

Buffy almost smiled, but her stomach wouldn't let her. "Flatterer."

"Do you want to go home?" Anya asked. "Xander assures me I'm an expert at playing doctor."

This time Buffy did smile. "I'm sure he did. No. You guys eat. I'll just sit in the corner and groan every now and then."

"If you're sure," Anya said, but she didn't move.

Buffy turned a bit. "Aren't you afraid you'll get germ ridden too?"

Anya shrugged. "I probably already am. Xander too. We may all end up spending tomorrow lying in bed and watching soup operas. It would be quite romantic if not for the phlegm."

"Soap," Buffy corrected absentmindedly. "Just as long as it's not Passions."

"But Spike says that's the best one." Anya grinned. "Those are the only people who have more interesting lives than we do."

"That's because they have that creepy little puppet following them around," Buffy said as she opened her eyes and looked around at the white tile walls. "Can't stay in here forever. Even if you do make a good pillow."

Anya smiled as she stood up, and then helped Buffy to her feet. "Good. I was getting, hung… Horny! I was getting horny," Anya corrected quickly and looked completely befuddled when Buffy broke out laughing. "Well, I might have been."

Buffy just shook her head and opened the door. She almost slammed it shut when she smelled the pasta, but she swallowed hard and walked out the door. Anya followed her out and almost bumped into her when Buffy stopped at the top of the staircase and refused to move.

Finally Anya grabbed Buffy gently around the arm and pulled her to the bedroom. "That's it. Off to bed with you, young lady."

Buffy didn't protest, even though she did look better as she got further away from the food. "Are you going to tuck me in?" She asked with a ghost of a smile as they walked into her bedroom. Anya nodded as she helped Buffy change into pajamas and climb into bed.

"How is she?" Xander asked as he stuck his head into the room.

"I'm all right," Buffy said. "Dawn's probably right, I just caught something." Xander didn't look convinced, so he walked over and put his hand over her forehead. Then he frowned and shook his head. "Something wrong, Dr. Harris?"

He broke into a grin and shrugged. "Damned it, Jim. I'm a carpenter, not a doctor."

Buffy made a face and gave him a gentle shove to the door. "That's it. I'm nowhere near sick enough to listen to bad Star Trek puns. I'll see you two in the morning."

"Do you want us to spend the night here?" Anya asked.

"Yeah, but I don't think it's a good idea. Somehow I doubt that my throwing up will make telling them any easier."

"It would give them something else to think about," Xander offered, but wisely stopped talking when he was hit with twin glares.

"I'll see you in the morning," Buffy said and rolled over.

Xander and Anya walked out, closing the door behind them, and went back to dinner. Amy and Dawn looked worried. Willow did too, for a half-second, then she looked back at her dinner.

"How is she?" Amy asked.

"Sleeping," Xander said as he sat down and attacked his plate of spaghetti with a relish.

"Faker," Dawn muttered as she chased a meatball with her fork.

"She wouldn't be sick if you two didn't keep her up all night long," Willow muttered.

Anya froze while Xander choked on his spaghetti. "What?" He gasped out.

"I know what you're doing to her after she patrols," Willow said. "I'm not stupid, you know."

"You do?" Anya asked as she and Xander exchanged worried glances.

"Yeah, you're trying to get her to do all the work for the Magic Box so you two can have more 'alone' time," Willow snapped as she glared at Anya.

Xander held up his hands. "It's not like that, Will."

"Sure it isn't. We all know that money's the only thing she cares about."

Xander glared back at Willow. "First of all, hey! And second of all…"

"Money is highly enjoyable, yes," Anya added as she put her fork back down on the table. "But it isn't everything."

"Sure it isn't. You don't have a special dance for Xander like you do for money," Willow said.

Amy put her hand on Willow's shoulder. "Willow, honey. They're your friends, and your amazing impression of my mother isn't very encouraging."

At the same time Anya stood up so fast she almost knocked over her chair. "I do too! I also have my Willow is an incredible…"

"Anya!" Xander shouted as he jumped up and clamped his hand over her mouth.

"No, let her say it!" Willow said as she jumped to her feet. "If she has the guts."

"HEY!" Dawn shouted and they all turned to look at her. "You guys are supposed to be adults, so stop acting like Xander's relatives and sit down and shut up!"

"Yeah!" Xander said, then the rest of what Dawn said sunk in and he glared at the sixteen year old. "Hey!" Dawn grinned and as she sucked a strand of spaghetti off her fork.

Everyone sat down and ate their meal in silence. Finally Xander pushed his empty plate away. "That was good, Will, Amy." He nudged Anya with his elbow.

"Yes, highly enjoyable," she added, but didn't look happy about it.

"Thanks," Amy said with an unsure smile. "That was the first time we've ever made spaghetti and I was worried…"

Willow cut her off with a glance. "Thanks, but it's only spaghetti." With that she grabbed her plate and carried it into the kitchen.

"Willow," Xander said and started to get up, but Amy cut him off.

"Don't. Not right now. Let her calm down a bit first."

"But," Xander began.

Amy grabbed his arm. "Trust me Xander. She hasn't been in the best mood lately. And unless I miss my guess you like having all your appendages attached."

Xander looked at the doorway that lead to the kitchen and sighed. "Dawn, can you keep an eye on Buffy for me?"

Dawn rolled her eyes as she got up. "Sure. Not like I wasn't planning on doing that anyway."

"Dinner was delicious, Willow," Xander tried one more time, but there wasn't any answer from the kitchen. "Come on, Ahn. I think we've caused enough problems tonight for Amy."

"We didn't cause Amy's problems…" Anya muttered as she stood and grabbed her coat.

"Ahn…"

Anya muttered something else under her breath as she turned and walked out the door. Xander glanced up the staircase again and then followed her out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Buffy was woken up the next day by the most annoying alarm clock in the world, a lawnmower under her window. She covered her head with her pillow, but somehow it only made the noise louder. She whimpered in frustration when she finally gave up and got out of bed.

She pulled on a t-shirt and sweatpants and was tying her hair back into a ponytail when she walked downstairs. She saw Dawn sprawled out across the couch on her stomach with a magazine in front of her and the television blaring MTV. "Comfortable?"

Dawn jumped up and smirked when she saw Buffy. "Well, look at who's finally dragged herself out of bed."

Buffy winced when the lawnmower passed near a window. "What time is it?"

"Almost one in the afternoon, miss lazy pants."

"And who's making that awful racket?"

Dawn threw her leg over the couch arm and lay back down. "Xander. He had today off and decided to do some work over here."

"Aww," Buffy said as she went to the window and saw Xander as he passed by. She took one look at him and grinned. "Anya was right, he does look good when he's sweaty."

"What?" Dawn shouted as she twisted like a pretzel to stare at her sister.

Buffy almost jumped out of her skin, which promptly turned bright red. "I said, uh… Isn't it your job to mow the grass?" Buffy asked as she put her hands on her hips and did the best impression she could of her mother.

Dawn didn't buy it for a minute. "Uh huh," she said and rolled back to the television. "Anya'll kick your ass if she ever heard you talking like that."

"Language! And she would not!"

Dawn rolled her eyes and picked up her book again. "I think you better go back to bed. Whatever you've got has eaten your brain."

"My brain is fine, thank you," Buffy muttered. "But I could use some air." With that she walked outside.

"Just keep your eyes in your head," Dawn shouted after her.

Buffy just shook her head as she watched Xander go around the corner of the house and a perfectly rotten idea flashed through her brain. "Oh, that would be so bad. And fun," she added and quietly stalked Xander into the backyard. She followed him for a few seconds before she tapped him on the shoulder and watched him jump two feet straight up. He spun around ready to lash out when he spotted her. "Buffy! Don't sneak up on people over a Hellmouth!"

"But it's so fun," Buffy smirked.

Xander crossed his arms and tried his best to look angry. "Yeah, yeah. Here I am, trying to do my girlfriend a favor and what thanks do I get?"

"What kind of thanks do you want?" She asked as innocent as a lamb, but there was nothing innocent in her smile. She was just about to pull him down for a kiss when she froze and looked back at the house. "Damn it," she muttered and let her arms fall.

Xander sighed. "I know. I hate sneaking around too. How do you feel today?" He asked as he looked her over.

"Better. It's a good thing you came over or I probably would've slept the day away."

"You just woke up?" When she nodded he turned and glared at the house. "Dawn said you were awake and hiding in you're room."

"She did?" Why that lying little," Buffy began, then she got a jumbled flash of Dawn asking her something, then ducking a pillow to the head. "Well, I guess I was up for a while." Then she looked around at her fresh cut lawn. "You know you don't have to do this."

He shrugged. "Well, I felt guilty leaving you here alone last night."

"Aw," Buffy repeated herself and this time she did hug him. "It wasn't your fault I was sick."

"I know, but still," he said and pushed the lawnmower to the front yard and shoved it into the garage. "It's nice to be an occasionally handy man."

"Always handy," Buffy corrected as she followed him.

"Besides I didn't want to listen to Dawn whine about doing it again."

"Don't let her fool you with her sad Bambi eyes. Cutting grass builds character." Buffy looked over the front yard, which was cut in nice straight lines. Usually it looked like some strange racecourse because Dawn missed as much as she cut. "But you do it much better - What the hell is that creepy little thing doing in my yard?"

"What?"

"That!" Buffy said and pointed to the yard gnome that was sitting next to the only real tree she had on her yard. "Did Willow put that there when I was dead? Cause if I had known, I would have crawled out of the grave sooner to kick her –"

"Deep breath, Buffy," Xander said as he walked over to the tree. "I think this is one demon I can handle," he said as he bent over and grabbed the gnome. Unfortunately when he picked it up the slick plastic slipped out of his sweaty hands and the gnome hit the ground head first with a crash.

"Somebody's in trouble," Buffy said with a wry grin.

"Yeah, yeah," Xander muttered as he knelt down to fiddle with the pieces, but they wouldn't fit together again. Finally he just sighed and let the little plastic chunks fall to the ground. "I think Humpty's dead." He said as he picked up the gnome by the feet and stood up. The gnome flipped over and a small black video camera fell out of the hole that used to be the top of its head. "What the hell?"

Buffy bent over and picked up the camera. Then she turned and realized it had the perfect view of her house. "Someone's been spying on us."

"Spike?" Xander asked as he looked at the camera, but Buffy could tell from the look on his face that he didn't really believe it.

"No. He hasn't been stalker man since he hooked up with Tara. Besides, I think this is a bit beyond him."

"The Trio of Dorkness," Xander said. "They so need a girl."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed, but she didn't really hear him. She just looked at the antenna. "I wonder if Willow could trace this back to their base."

Xander wiped the dirt of his hands. "You better ask her. I think that I'm in the doghouse."

"What? Why?"

"She's fighting with Anya again."

"But I thought they had gotten over their problems."

"They did," Xander said and looked down at the ground. "I think she's jealous of the time you're spending with us."

Buffy looked up to where Willow's room would be. "I didn't… She's been so busy with Amy, and both of them have been trying to cut down on magic. I didn't want to make that harder."

"I know. I'm sure she'll be back to her old perky self in a few days. I just don't want to be in the line of fire until then."

Buffy pocketed the camera. "All right, I'll go see if she's busy."

"Good. I better get back to work. Grass waits for no man. Besides I have to go shopping later."

Buffy glanced at the house to make sure no one was watching, then leaned forward to give Xander a quick kiss. "I'll see you at the store later?"

"If you do that again, you will," Xander answered with a lopsided grin.

"We do have to make up for last night," Buffy said as she turned and walked away with a little extra swish in her walk as a preview of things to come.

"Willow?" Buffy asked as she ducked into the kitchen.

"Buffy!" Willow said happily as she looked up from the mixing bowl in front of her. "I was starting to worry."

"Don't. Haven't met a bug yet that can beat the slayer," Buffy grinned as she walked over and sat put the camera down on the counter next to her. Willow glanced at it, but it didn't seem to sink in. "Whatcha making?"

"Chocolate chip cookies."

"Guilt food?"

"Maybe a little," Willow said as she went back to stirring. "I was a total witch last night to Xander and Anya. And not the good kind either."

Buffy jumped up on the stool and swiped a bit of cookie dough off the side of the bowl with her finger. "Xander said. Why?"

"I don't know. Maybe I had a little of what you had?"

"If that was true you'd be making a completely different kind of cookies."

"Eww," Willow said and made a face. Buffy went for another swipe of cookie dough, but Willow slapped her finger away with the spoon. "Like that's going to make you feel any better."

"Seems to help so far," Buffy said and tried again, but stopped when Willow wagged the spoon at her. "Spoilsport."

"Darn tootin," Willow said and started stirring again.

"So what happened last night?"

"I don't know," Willow said as she blew at a strand of hair off her forehead. "When you ran off I was going to check on you, but Anya stood up too and it just got all weird."

"Like how?" Buffy asked as eyed the dough and bided her time.

"It was like when we used to fight and make Xander choose sides, but only worse. Now you're over there with them so much, and when you are here all you talk about is them. It's… It just feels like - Like she's replacing me." Willow stirred harder and harder as she talked. At the end she stirred so hard that she bent the spoon. "Damn," Willow said as she stared at the hinge in the spoon and tried not to cry.

"No one can replace you," Buffy said as she reached over and took the spoon and bent it back to normal. She handed it back and licked the stray batter off her fingers.

"Promise?"

"Promise," Buffy said and leaned over the table and pulled the red head to her in a hug. "You're my best friend, Will. Nothing's gonna change that. I'll tell you what, how about tomorrow night you, me and Xander go to the Bronze. Original Scoobies only just to catch up."

"Sounds like fun." Willow was grinning and sniffing when she finally pulled away. "I'd better get these cookies done before Xander goes."

Buffy grinned. "Like Xander would pass up free cookies. Are you making enough for Anya too?"

Willow frowned for a moment, but the crease melted. "Yeah. I even have a special container to put them into so they actually make it home. So, where'd you get the camera?" Willow asked as she started scooping out little bits of dough and putting it on the cookie sheet.

"In the front yard. I think it's a gift from our friendly neighborhood geeks."

"Can you finish this while I take a look see?" Willow asked. Buffy's face lit up and Willow hit her with the resolve face. "And I expect most of that dough to actually make it to cookies, young lady."

"Slayers honor."

Willow stared at the camera for a few minutes, then left and came back with her computer. Buffy had just finished the last pan when Willow finally got the camera hooked up to her laptop. "It looks like you were right. The camera's broadcasting its picture over the wireless web."

"What's powering them?"

"That's easy. They hooked it into the house's power line."

"So do you think you can trace it back to their base?"

Willow smiled and looked so happy that Buffy worried there might be a drool issue. "Try to out geek the geeks? Piece of cake. Or cookie," Willow said and reached over to grab one of the still cooling cookies. Buffy whacked her hand with the spoon. "Hey!"

"Payback." Willow stuck out her tongue and went back to work. "How long do you think it'll take?"

Willow shrugged. "I don't know, but probably by tonight."

"Then I'm going to take these out to Xander, then go see if Anya needs any help at the shop," Buffy said and slid most of the cookies into a bin, but she left a half dozen on a plate that she set in front of Willow. "Unless you want me to stay?"

Willow didn't look up from the computer screen. "Fine. I'll call if I find anything," she said as she worked, only pausing long enough to grab a cookie.

Buffy walked out with the package. Dawn was sound asleep on the couch and Xander's car was gone so she just left for the Magic Box. Of course when she got there she had to spend two hours convincing Anya that she was fine, but the cookies helped. Xander walked into the store after closing time and, like so often that week, one thing lead to another.

Later, when they were all dressed but still basking in the afterglow, Buffy was lying next to Anya on the table and tracing lazy pattern on the ex-demon's bare back. "I told you I felt better," Buffy murmured.

"I'm a believer," Anya all but purred. "What about you, Xander?"

"I think I could use a bit more convincing," Xander said as he kissed Buffy on the back of the neck. Then he leaned back. "Do we have anymore of Willow's cookies?"

"No," Buffy said. "Someone ate them all."

Anya shrugged. "I was hungry. Not all of us slept till one."

"Ah well. Just have to get my sugar rush somewhere else then," Xander said and went back to nibbling Buffy's neck.

Buffy giggled and leaned back for more. It was at exactly that moment the phone choose that moment to start ringing. Buffy sighed and slid off the table. "I'll get it, but if it's a telemarketer I'm going to be a very grumpy Buffy."

"That wouldn't be good. She might kick us out of bed, Ahn." Xander said as he reached over and ran his fingers down Anya's side.

"She wouldn't dare."

That dealt with the cloud nicely. Buffy almost sounded perky when she picked up the phone. "Magic Box, Buffy Summers speaking. How can I help you?"

"Buffy," Willow said, her voice absolutely calm. "I broke their signal. They're at 1445 Bolivar Street."

"That's great, Will," Buffy said as she wrote down the address. Then Willow's complete lack of emotion sank in. "Is there something else?"

Willow didn't answer for the longest time. When she did her voice sounded even flatter. "Yeah. They had camera's everywhere. In front of Spike's crypt, Xander's work site, school - and the Magic Box."

"What!" Buffy shouted as she covered herself even though she was dressed, and looked around the store. Anya and Xander heard her tone and sat up. "Willow…" She began, but the line was dead. Buffy just stood there with the dead phone pressed against her ear until Xander came over and took it from her.

"Hello?" He said and hung up when he didn't hear an answer. "Buffy, what's wrong?"

"They were watching us," Buffy said, still in shock.

"What?" Anya asked and glanced over at the covered windows. "How?"

"They had camera's here too?" Xander asked in horror as he started looking around at the shelves.

"Those pimple face little bastards were watching us," Buffy growled as she stormed over to the nearest shelf and started tearing through the merchandise.

"Who was watching? And what cameras?" Anya asked in complete confusion as she watched Buffy and Xander tear apart her clean and well-organized store. "I just straightened that up…" She whimpered when Buffy swiped through a shelf of almost rare and certainly not made in Taiwan ceremonial pots.

"Warren and his bunch," Xander said. "They had a camera hidden in front of Buffy's house."

"Those perverts had one everywhere we go," Buffy added. "Everything we do." She hugged herself and shivered.

Anya was still confused, especially about why they had to destroy the store to find one camera, but she tried to be helpful. "We'll find them. It'll be all right."

Buffy nodded as she went behind the counter and started pulling out weapons. "It sure will be."

"Aha!" Xander shouted as he held up a plastic human skull that had been sitting on a shelf and had a perfect view of the shop. "Here it is," he said and tapped the glass lens that was hidden inside an eye socket.

"Hey!" Anya said as she stormed over and grabbed it out of Xander's hands. "I know that skull. A skinny blond kid brought it back." She paused and thought back, trying to remember what the kid had looked like, but only one thing stood out in her mind. "I think he was gay."

"The skull?" Xander asked and glanced over at Buffy who had finally stopped going through her weapons and was walking over with her Slayer face on.

"No, the boy."

"Give it to me." Buffy said. Anya nodded and handed the skull over. Buffy held the skull up to her face and grinned in a way that would have made Faith proud. "I don't know if you dweebs have wired these things for sound, but I hope you enjoyed the show cause you're so dead." With that she crushed the skull between her hands and let the shattered bits of skull and camera drop between her fingers. Then she picked up her ax and went to the door. When she realized she was alone she turned and spat out, "Come on, let's go." Xander and Anya exchanged worried glances then grabbed weapons and followed her out.

The door that bounced down the stairs and finally crashed into the floor broke the quiet of the basement. "Knock, knock," Buffy said as she followed the broken door down. She was holding onto the handle of her axe so tightly that her knuckles were white and she had murder in her eyes. Xander was right behind her, his sword down by his side and a rather worried look on his face as he watched Buffy. Anya brought up the rear and almost poked Xander in the back with her sword in her rush to get down the stairs. But it was all for nothing. No one was home. "Damn. I hate wasting a good entrance."

Anya looked around the basement. There were books and clothes scattered everywhere and papers spilled on the floor. "I think they got your message."

"Grab everything. They must've left something important behind," Buffy ordered and the three of them spread out.

They worked quietly as they dug they dug through the garbage that was left behind. Then Xander shouted, "Oh my God!"

"What?" Buffy asked. When he didn't answer she ran up to him with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. "Did you find out where they went?"

"Better. They have the original Boba Fett!" Xander said with all the joy of a kid a Christmas as he turned and showed Buffy the small Star Wars figure.

Buffy sighed. "Focus, Xander."

Xander grinned as he looked over the shelve full of action figures. "Forget focus. This is booty," he said as he found emptied out a trash bag of clothes and started stuffing the toys inside.

Buffy shook her head and went back to work, but with was a ghost of a smile now. They spent a half hour searching the house and found four books, a handful of papers and a couple of data cd's that looked like they were important. Then they turned to the computer.

"Maybe we should call Willow," Anya said.

"Yeah. She'll go nuts when she sees this setup," Xander added as he ran his hand over the top of the computer.

"We can't," Buffy said as she straightened a stool that one of the trio had knocked over in their rush to get out and sat down.

"What, why not?" Anya asked with a frown. "Is she too high and mighty to help now?"

"No," Buffy said as she pushed her hair back but didn't say anything else.

Xander saw the look on Buffy's face and went pale. "She saw us, didn't she?"

Buffy nodded and said in a small voice, "I think so. I don't know how much she saw, but…" She started typing, more to relieve the tension that in the hopes of finding anything. As it was she stopped every three seconds to wish she had paid more attention in computer class.

"Then she'll just have to get over it," Anya said. "I mean, this isn't any of her business."

Xander sighed as he sat down on the other stool. "She shouldn't have found out like this, Ahn. She's our friend."

"Some friend," Anya muttered and turned away.

"I think I found something," Buffy said and tried not to sound too shocked.

"What?" Xander asked, glad for the interruption, as he turned to the screen.

Buffy pushed one last button and the screen flashed as the security system started to play back. At first the screen just flashed to different cameras. They saw Xander cutting the grass, Willow walking up the driveway hand in hand with Amy, Tara crossing the graveyard to Spike's crypt, then it flashed to the Magic Box. Buffy hit a button to lock onto that file. At first it was just Anya and Buffy dealing with customers. Buffy hit another button and the screen blurred into fast-forward.

Xander walked in and the three of them buzzed around on the screen like humming birds on speed as they cleaned up the shop. Then Buffy slammed her finger down on the button again when she saw Xander walk up behind Anya and start kissing her neck.

The tape slowed down to normal speed and Buffy hugged her knees as she watched the encounter again. "They saw it all."

"We'll get them, Buffy," Xander promised as his fingers dug into the table.

"Yeah, we can get Olaf's hammer and…" Anya's voice died down as she watched the monitor. The three of them twisted their heads to the left at the same moment and their eyes went as wide. "Wow."

"It's a good thing Slayers are extra flexible," Xander added and swallowed hard.

"So that's what that looked like," Buffy finished in wonder. She chewed on her lip for a moment, then hit another button and videotape ejected. She grabbed the tape and shoved it into her bag. "I think we'll keep this."

"Oh yeah," Xander said in awe. Then he shook his head and stood up as straight as he could. "I think we've got everything. We better go see if Willow'll talk to us and help us sort this stuff out." Buffy nodded and the two of them turned to walk to the door. Then they realized Anya was still staring at the blank screen, a smile on her face and a glazed look in her eyes.

Buffy waved her hand in front of Anya's eyes, but she didn't move. "She broke again," Buffy said with a pout. "I think that might be a new power."

"You just don't know the magic word," Xander said as he bent down and kissed Anya hard enough to bruise. Anya wrapped her arms around Xander and tried to pull him closer. Finally Xander pulled away with a goofy grin. "See, works just as well for a poor slob as for Prince Charming."

"That was most pleasant," Anya said as she ran her hands over the front of her thighs. "Can we do that again?"

"The kiss?" Buffy asked and tried not to sound jealous.

"No. Well, yes, that too. But I meant what was on the tape." Anya reached over and ran her fingers over Buffy's sides. "That was highly enjoyable."

"Only after we beat the hell out of Warren," Buffy answered.

"Damn, evil's always getting in the way of my orgasms," Anya muttered as she pulled her hands back. "You two have to get your priorities in order," She added with a stamp of her foot. Buffy and Xander just shared a look as they took Anya by the arms and pulled her out of the basement.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It took two days to break the computer codes and translate the books. It probably would've have taken half that time if the entire Scooby Gang was working together, but Willow barely agreed to work with Xander and Buffy. Amy and Dawn helped out as much as they could, but they didn't have the experience and got in the way so often that in the end Willow chased them off. After that mimes spent more time talking than the three of them did.

"There, we've got almost everything," Willow said when she finally looked up from her laptop. "They have schematics on the bank delivery routes for half the companies in town. The first one is the amusement park delivery tonight. The only thing I couldn't decipher was this…" She hit a button and pages of odd angular marks appeared on the screen. "It's might be a language that isn't in any of Giles' books, but I kinda doubt it. Or maybe it's a picture of some kind of ritual…"

Xander looked over her shoulder and tried not to notice how Willow shifted away from him. He started chuckling the moment he saw the marks. "Those are Klingon love poems."

"You know how to read Klingon?" Buffy asked in shock.

"And they called me a nerd," Willow muttered just loud enough for Xander to hear.

Xander shrugged. "Hey, I did spend a year in my parents' basement."

"Can you read us some?" Buffy asked with a grin as she slid up next to him.

"I could, but you're supposed to throw things at me when I do, so no."

Buffy got even closer. "What if I threw pillows?"

"Then maybe," Xander answered as he leaned down to kiss her, only to be interrupted by Willow's sudden coughing fit.

"I suppose focusing would be a bad thing?" Willow asked darkly without taking her eyes of the screen. "It was bad enough when you had to run off every five minutes to keep Anya quiet, now we'll never get anything done."

Xander's grin collapsed as he pulled away from Buffy and went to the front door for his coat. "I'm going to do another sweep for those cameras," he said as he opened the door and walked outside.

The second he was gone Buffy leaned over and slammed the laptop shut. "Hey!" Willow snapped as she pulled her hands back just in time.

"I don't know how much you saw of us at the Magic Box," Buffy began.

"More than enough," Willow snapped. "I'm just glad Dawn wasn't here to see it."

"Don't worry about Dawn," Buffy hissed back. "I'm sorry you found out that way, but if you ever, and I mean ever say anything like that to Xander again I'll…"

"You'll what?" Willow lifted her chin and almost dared Buffy to hit her. "Hurt him even worse now than you will when what you're doing blows up in your faces? You know it isn't going to work out."

"We were there for you," Buffy said as she backed away as her anger softened to disbelief. "I had hoped you'd be there for us."

The arrogance in Willow's face melted into concern. "I'm always here for you, Buffy. Its just a…"

"Then apologize to Xander. And tell him I'll meet him at home later," Buffy said as she turned to the door. She just couldn't take being in her house any more.

"Where are you going?" Willow asked. Then she ran over and got her coat. "I'll come with…"

"No," Buffy held her hand up to stop Willow and took a deep breath before she continued. "I'm going to find the geeks and I have a great desire to break things."

"I can help…" Willow offered again.

Buffy smirked. "Please. I'm the Slayer. I think I can take care of myself."

"Hi, honey. I'm home," Buffy said as she opened the door to the apartment.

Anya grinned as she looked up from the paperwork that was spread across the dinner table. Then she saw Buffy, who had one arm wrapped around her chest and ugly purple bruises on her arms, and the smile was replaced with a look of horror. "What happened?" She asked as she ran over to help.

"I ran into the Trio and they introduced me to a few brick walls," Buffy said as she put her arm over Anya's shoulders and let her girlfriend help her into the apartment. "Ow, ow, ow," Buffy whimpered. It felt like the whole side of her body was one big bruise. "Where are we going?"

"To the bedroom. I want to check you over and there isn't enough room on the couch," Anya said as she carefully helped Buffy across the living room. Then she glanced back to the front door and whispered, "God. What does Xander look like?"

"The same as usual, I hope. I went alone," Buffy explained as she blinked away tears. "Xander needed some time alone after Willow went off on him."

"What were you thinking going after them by yourself?" Anya asked as she carefully slipped out from under Buffy's arm and helped her down to the bed.

Buffy sighed with relief as she sat down. "I didn't know Warren would be all Mighty Mouse."

Anya grumbled something but didn't answer. She went right to work as she carefully pulled off Buffy's torn blouse. She was as gentle as possible, but Buffy almost blacked out when Anya pulled the shirt down over her injured shoulder. Buffy looked down and realized her feelings were right. She saw dozens of small, but still bright purple bruises down her arm and side, including five in her upper arm that matched Warren's fingers perfectly. And she knew there were more up and down her back without looking. But the worse was her shoulder, which was so purple it almost looked back.

Anya took one look at the bruises then walked out of the room. When she came back she was juggling icepacks, a bottle of Tylenol and a glass of water.

Buffy took the Tylenol and downed the water, then went on with her story. "I'm just glad that Jonathan told me how to beat Warren. Even though I seriously misunderstood what breaking his orbs meant."

Anya didn't show any sign of listening to Buffy as she ran her hands over Buffy's ribs and arms. Buffy winced a few times at the prods, but kept on talking.

"And Warren had actual jet packs! I mean, can he get his head out of comics for five minutes?"

Anya still didn't say anything as she carefully put the icepacks against the worst of the bruises.

"Are you listening, Ahn? Because I'm pretty sure the story's at least worth a nod or two."

"I'm listening. You went off half-assed because Willow said something she shouldn't have to Xander and almost got yourself killed by an especially pathetic example of humanity."

"I wouldn't say it was that bad…" Buffy said, but even to her it sounded weak.

"No? The only reason you're not dead is because one of the bad guys told you how to beat Warren. The bad guys! Now unless I'm mistaken they're not usually that helpful. I know I wasn't back in the day. I didn't go around saying, 'Here's my power center. Break it, please.'"

"I don't think Jonathan's really all that bad…"

Anya's shoulders slumped and she stood up. "I don't think you have any broken bones and you're bruises should be gone by tomorrow. Maybe next time you'll be luckier." With that she turned and walked away,

Buffy watched Anya go through the door and waited until it was clear that the ex-demon wasn't coming back. Buffy sighed as she pulled off the icepacks despite how good the felt and hobbled into the living room. She found Anya sitting on the couch with her back to the bedroom and her head buried in her hands. Buffy went over and sat down next to her. "I'm sorry."

Anya sniffed and wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. "It's just hard. I mean, I've lost count of the number of times that I've had to take care of Xander after he did something incredibly brave and stupid. And he'd laugh it off like it was no big deal. Like it was perfectly normal to have a Troll break your arm, or an Xhaliran demon throw you through a door.

"That's why I started to go out on patrols. To try and talk him into actually looking before he lunges. And so I'd know what I could expect when he was done. I was always so afraid that one day he wouldn't come back and all that would be left would be this cold thing that used to be him, but he wouldn't in it anymore.

"And now you're here with me too and that makes it worse, especially when you do something like this. I know you have to save the world. But do you have to do it alone? I mean, all the other Slayers tried that and hello.

"Do…" Anya began before she choked on the words. She looked down and her eyes traced every bruise on Buffy's body. It was a long time before she finally looked Buffy in the eyes again. "Do you still want to die? Is that why you did this?"

"No," Buffy answered almost before she could think. "It's been so hard being back," she began and swallowed hard as a dozen emotions ran through her. The loneliness and the cold empty feeling were still there, especially when she was alone. But she wasn't alone much anymore, and sometime in the past few months the edge had died without her realizing it. "But I think, no. I know it's not as hard as it was. You and Xander… You make me complete."

Anya's face went blank as she stared at Buffy. Then her lips twitched and her sides started shaking. Finally she started giggling and couldn't stop. In the end she was leaning against Buffy's good arm with tears running down her face.

"What?" Buffy finally said.

"I can't believe you just said that," Anya said between giggles as sat up and wiped her eyes.

"Well, I thought it was touching," Buffy muttered.

Anya sat up and patted Buffy's knee. "It was. It's just what you said."

"You make me complete?"

Anya giggled again, but stopped when she saw Buffy's frown. "You don't hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"Its how you say complete."

"Complete? What's so…" Suddenly Buffy blushed. "Oh."

"See. And it's true both ways too." Anya said as she ran her hand higher up Buffy's thigh before she pulled away.

"Pervert," Buffy said and stuck out her tongue.

"Other pervert," Anya shot back. Then she glanced at the door. "How much longer do you think Xander'll be gone? I don't like it when he's out at night alone."

Buffy sighed and sank down into the couch. "He was out searching for cameras back at the house when I left."

"But Willow found all the cameras."

"I know. I think he just needed some alone time after dealing with Willow."

"Willow," Anya snapped out the name and got up so she could start pacing. "What's her problem? We weren't all judgy when she decided she was gay. What gives her the right to be all 'that's not the proper way of doing things?'"

Buffy squirmed as she watched Anya pace around the room. She didn't like hearing anyone bash her friends, but she had said basically the same thing so she couldn't say anything without sounding like a hypocrite. So she just told the truth. "I think she's just shocked. I mean, one day you and Xander are about to get married and then she sees the three of us in the Magic Box."

"Still…" Anya grumbled.

"We should tell everyone," Buffy said suddenly. "Maybe that'll show Willow that what we feel is real. Or at least Dawn. I don't want her finding out from someone else."

"Like a certain nosey redheaded witch?" Anya asked.

"Kinda," Buffy admitted. She grabbed Anya's hand as the she paced by and pulled her back onto the couch. "What do you think?"

Anya shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me, though it would be nice to stop pretending when others are in the room." Then her face darkened. "Xander might be a problem. He likes keeping secrets almost as much as you do."

"I don't like keeping secrets," Buffy protested. "I keep them, but I don't like it," she added off Anya's look. "Now all we have to do is find out what Xander thinks."

"What Xander thinks about what?" Xander asked as he walked through the front door. His face was dark as he hung up his jacket, then he turned around and saw Buffy and Anya on the couch. His eyebrow went up when he realized that Buffy was sitting there in a black sports bra, and then he saw the ugly purple bruises that covered her side. "Buffy, what happened?" He asked as he rushed over.

Buffy looked down and remembered that she was hurt. "Warren's been eating his spinach."

"Are you all right?" Xander asked as he knelt down in front of her and started looking her over. "I knew I should've gone after you," he said more to himself than anyone else.

Anya put her hand on his arm. "She'll be fine, Xander. I checked her over."

"Are you sure?"

Anya rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm sure. I've had plenty of practice playing doctor lately."

"But," Xander began.

"I'm fine," Buffy said and kissed him on the forehead. "Highly medicated but fine."

Xander let out the breath he'd been holding and sat down on the edge of the coffee table. "Good. I think its time we deal with Warren's little gang before…"

Buffy held her hand up. "Already dealt with. Jonathan and the other guy are in jail for trying to rob an armored truck and I don't think Warren'll be any threat without his friends."

Then she glanced over at Anya, who nodded so Buffy went on. "Actually, we were talking about something more important. Anya and I think we should tell the gang about us."

Xander winced and leaned back. "Why? So they can all say the things Willow said?"

"Willow can go stuff…"

"Anya!" Buffy cut her off. "We are on the same side. She's just a little – overprotective."

"Putting it mildly," Xander added. "But you heard her today. I don't need that kind of shit from Spike too."

Buffy looked down at the floor and wondered if the carpet was always that shaggy. "Actually, he already knows."

"What? For how long?"

"Since February."

"But we've only… You mean you told him before you told us?"

"Kinda?" Buffy said meekly. "Actually he figured it out. Tara knows too."

"So we'd basically just be making a formal announcement. But without the formal wear," Anya added. "Which is a good thing too. Those clothes were beautiful but very binding."

"And that's gone so well for us," Xander said as he looked around the apartment. Then he sighed. "All right. Let's call a full Scooby meeting at your house tomorrow."

"Why tomorrow?" Buffy asked.

Xander grinned. "It's like taking off a band aid. Best to do it quickly."

Anya put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "So you think our relationship is a torturous session that would be best ended hastily?"

"Oh, hell."

The next day was a standard South California afternoon, cool and almost disgustingly sunny. The three of them stood outside Buffy's house. They had all somehow ended up wearing something white. Buffy had a white skirt and a dark blue top to hide the almost vanished but still visible bruises from the night before and Anya was wearing a wearing a black skirt and white blouse while Xander had on almost white pants and sneakers and a beige shirt.

"Are you sure we should be doing this, Buff? I mean you were sick again this morning. Maybe we should put it off?" Xander glanced over at her, his worry clear in his eyes.

"I told you I'm fine. Its just nerves. It won't get any easier if we chicken out now," Buffy answered as they reached the front door of her house.

Xander reached out to the doorknob but froze. "Now I know how all those Christians felt before they went to the lions," he said as he wiped his hands on his pants.

"Just think about how well fed the lions were," Anya suggested, but she wasn't in any hurry to walk through the door either.

"You two are both weird," Buffy said as she opened the door. They walked inside and saw Willow and Amy sitting in the love seat while Dawn was curled up in a chair with a demon book in her lap.

"So what's the new Big Bad?" Dawn asked without looking up from her book. "I hope it's a K'ro'loth demon. It says here that they drop off puppies. So, I'm thinking, not so bad."

"No, sweetie. They eat puppies," Anya corrected way too cheerfully. "Actually, they eat children of any kind."

"Oh," Dawn said in a small voice as she closed the book.

"There isn't any Big Bad, Dawn. Maybe you should sit down," Buffy said

"I am sitting down," Dawn pointed out as she leaned over and put the book on the coffee table.

"Than maybe we should sit down," Buffy said.

"Good idea," Xander said.

"My feet were getting tired anyway," Anya agreed. The three of them awkwardly made their way to the couch. Then they heard a commotion from outside.

"Open the bloody door!" They heard Spike shout. Buffy ran over and pulled it open as Spike came running in with his jacket over his head and smoke billowing around him.

"Spike, what're you doing here?" Buffy asked as she waved the smoke away.

"I thought you said it was a full Scooby meeting," Tara said as she followed Spike in. Then she got worried. "Unless you didn't mean to…"

"No!" Buffy said and pulled Tara into a hug. "Its good to see a couple of friendly faces. I just didn't think…"

"What? That old Spike wants to be one of your precious Scoobies?" Spike slapped his hands over his heart. "You wound me, Slayer. And just so you know, I don't. I'm still evil."

"That's right." Tara winked at Buffy as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. "My big evil teddy bear."

"We've talked about this, pet," Spike whispered as he blushed with stolen blood. "Not in front of the others."

"Does anyone else feel disturbed right now?" Xander asked and everyone in the room except for Willow raised their hands. Willow never took her eyes off the floor.

"Oh, bugger off," Spike said as he collapsed down in the last chair and Tara sat in his lap. "So what's with this get together? Is it time for the monthly group hug all ready?"

"Well," Buffy said as she sat down on the couch between Xander and Anya and put her hands on their knees. "We have an announcement to make."

She glanced over at Xander, who coughed and added. "Well… The three of us… That is to say…"

"The three of us are in a relationship together," Anya finally burst out.

There was stunned silence for a minute. Then Spike pulled a cigarette out of his jacket pocket and went to light it up, but stopped when Tara gave him a look. Spike frowned, but put the cigarette back. "That's it? You woke me up in the middle of the day and almost gave me a permanent tan just for that?"

"Sorry to bother you, Spike," Xander said. "No, what. I love bothering…" He was about to say more when Tara turned her look on him. He sighed and let the rest of his comment fade away.

"That's what you've been doing?" Dawn asked as she stared at her sister. "That's why you've been spending so much time over there? Have you…?"

Anya opened her mouth, but Buffy squeezed down hard on Anya's knee before she could answer. Anya glared at Buffy as she slapped the hand away and rubbed her sore knee.

"Sorry," Buffy whispered before she turned to her sister. "The three of us love each other, Dawn."

"What? But… How?" Dawn sputtered as she recoiled away. "How could you do this to me? I hate you! All of you!" She shrieked and ran up the stairs without looking back. The house shook when Dawn slammed her bedroom door behind her. Buffy looked stunned for a moment before she got up to follow her sister.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Xander asked as he and Anya started to get up, but they sat back down when Buffy shook her head.

"No. I just need to talk to her," Buffy said as she went up the staircase.

Xander finally turned to Willow with a guarded look on his face. "What about you?"

Willow stared at him and smiled. It was a sickly half-smile, but it was a smile. Then the smile slipped. "I just want to say I was sorry for what I said last night. I was just shocked, you know? If this is what the three of you want, then…"

She never got a chance to finish, Xander dashed over and pulled her up into a hug that was so strong that she couldn't even if she wanted too. "Thanks, Will. You know I don't like fighting with you."

"I know," Willow said and patted Xander's back as she slipped her other arm free and mimed zipping her mouth shut. "I won't say anything again."

"What about you, Amy?" Anya asked when she finally tore her eyes of Willow. She'd more than half expected the red head to take off like Dawn did.

"If you're all happy, then I'm happy," Amy said simply.

"That's it? No irrational screaming?"

Amy shrugged. "Spending three years as a rat opens your mind a bit.

Willow finally pulled away from Xander and took Amy's hand. "I wish we could talk some more, but we're buried in homework." She said as she all but pulled Amy off the couch and up the stairs.

Xander sat back down on the couch and wrapped his arm around Anya with a happy sigh. Anya snuggled into him, but glanced up the stairs every few seconds in worry. Then he turned and looked at Spike and Tara. "What about you two?"

Spike smirked. "Like I told Buffy. All I want is a video of the three of you. Well, just her and Anya really. Maybe you could work the camera." Then he ducked, but the expected slap to the back of his head never came. He turned and looked up at Tara, who was looking up the staircase. "Something wrong, pet?"

"No," Tara said as she got up and went to the staircase. "At least I hope not."

Anya watched Tara go and let out a sigh of relief. "That went well."

Xander looked around the empty room before his gaze set on Spike. "I don't know. I haven't seen a room empty out this fast since that time Dawn stole some of Spike's poetry and read it to us."

"Hey now!" Spike shouted.

"Dawnie? Can I come in?" Buffy asked as she knocked on Dawn's bedroom door. When she didn't hear an answer she opened the door and stuck her head in.

Dawn was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed and back to the wall. She clutched a pillow to her chest and glared at her sister. "What?"

"I just wanted to talk," Buffy said.

"I don't know what we have to talk about," Dawn muttered.

"How about what you said downstairs. I thought you liked Xander and Anya," Buffy said as she walked into Dawn's room and gently closed the door behind her.

"I love Xander. Anya treats me like a kid."

Buffy sat down on the edge of Dawn's bed. "She's over a thousand years old. The only person who isn't a kid to her is Giles. And that's only cause he's British and they all act like they're ancient."

Dawn cut her off so quickly Buffy wondered if she was even listening. "And that's just one of her problems. There's also her stack of bodies. I mean she used to brag about what she did. And if that isn't a problem for you anymore you might as well be sleeping with Spike."

Buffy swallowed hard. "She's not like that anymore, she has a soul."

"Sure she isn't. I mean she went running back to D'Hoffryn when Xander dumped her at the altar. What's to keep her from doing it again?"

"Me. And you don't know the first thing about what happened at the wedding."

"I know enough," Dawn said, her eyes blazing and her chin up in defiance. Buffy wondered if she'd ever used that trick on her mom.

"No. You don't. Not about Anya, or Xander or me."

Dawn looked away. "Because I'm the bratty key, right? A tiny ball of energy that can't be trusted."

Buffy almost growled in frustration. "You always do that! Whenever we start fighting you pull that 'I'm not real' act."

"Beats your 'I'm the Slayer, pity me' act."

Buffy's shoulders slumped down as the fight left her all at once. Maybe Xander was right, maybe they should've kept it hidden. Of course eventually the endless sleepovers would be wondered at. "Why don't you just say what's really bothering you."

Dawn stared daggers at her sister. "It's the way you always think about yourself. I mean, 'I've got a sacred duty, I'm the older sister, I've got to take care of - of mom.' And now this." Dawn flung the pillow to the side of the room as she stood up and started pacing. "I mean. I'm not a big enough freak at school. Orphan Girl, Knife Girl. Now when what few friends I have come over what am I supposed to say? That's my sister and her boyfriend and girlfriend? And you dump all of this on me from the middle of nowhere. How'd you expect me to react?" Dawn was almost shouting when she finished. She jabbed her hands onto her hips and just watched Buffy. "Well?"

Buffy didn't say anything for a long time. When she did she didn't look at her sister, she just stared down at the bedspread. "Like you were happy that I found the two people I love with all my heart. Happy that I've found something that made me realize I don't have to be dead to be in heaven. But most of all," Buffy said as she got up. She felt so old all the sudden. So tired. "Most of all. I wish you were happy for me just because I was happy." She turned and walked back to the door.

"Buffy," Dawn called out, her voice cracking, but Buffy didn't turn back. She just kept walking faster and faster until she was downstairs and in the backyard. She was proud of herself, she didn't start crying until she was alone.

At least she thought she was alone. She felt one pair of arms, then another close around her.

"It'll be all right, Buffy," Anya said.

"Yeah. Summers women are just stubborn. Dawn'll come around," Xander added.

"I thought she'd be happy for me. For us," Buffy said between sobs.

"She will be," Anya said. "After all, Willow is now. And you know what an donkey she can be."

"Come on, let's sit down," Xander said and led the three of them over to the small bench.

It was the same bench that Buffy used to find her mom sitting at when she was sick. She always sat out here just to look at the flowers. Buffy remembered the time, just before she left to patrol, when the two of them sat here together for an hour. Didn't talk, just sat and looked at the flowers. It took a while, but in the end the tears stopped. "I don't know what I'd do without you two. You know I love both of you, don't you?" Buffy asked as she turned to hug Anya.

"I love you too."

Buffy turned and hugged Xander, but he suddenly stiffened in her arms.

Tara went up the stairs and turned to look at Dawn's room. The door was closed, but she could still hear the muffled words. As much as she wanted to go in and help, she knew that Buffy and Dawn had to settle things between themselves. Just like she and Willow had to. With that she turned and walked to Willow's room and gently knocked on the door.

It felt odd to have to knock at what used to be her bedroom, but she knew that she couldn't just barge in. The good old days were as gone as the memories Willow had taken from her.

That was why, as much as she wanted to, she didn't buy Willow's change of heart. It all seemed too sudden, and Willow never did anything sudden. She wondered if Xander might have questioned it too if he wasn't so happy to get his best friends approval, or maybe Willow was telling the truth and she was just bitter. Tara stood frozen in indecision just outside the door with her hand raised to knock when she heard the sounds of an argument inside. She took a breath and burst into the room.

"… don't know," Amy was saying. She had her arms wrapped around herself as she stared down at Willow, who was sitting in front of a small pentagram with a bowl in the middle. "This isn't like having fun at the Bronze or fighting demons."

"But we both know what they're doing is…" Willow stopped suddenly when she saw Tara walk through the door. She almost started to frown, but it dissolved into a smile as she closed the book she had in her lap. "Tara, hi!"

"Feel free to burst in any time," Amy added. It should have been sarcastic, but Tara thought she saw something else in the eyes of the blond witch.

"I thought you gave up magic," Tara said, her tone made it clear it wasn't a question.

"Just slowed down some. Why take the hard road if you don't have to?" Willow asked.

"Because the easy rode broke your arm and almost got you devoured by a demon?" Tara snapped.

The smile melted away from Willow's face. "Don't act so high and mighty with me. I've felt you do spells at Spike's place."

"I'm not the one who can't handle it."

"She can handle it," Amy said suddenly. "We just had a few spells explode on us, is all. Happens to everybody. Not all of us are killjoys."

Tara shuddered, but remembered why she was here and glared down at the book Willow was holding closed. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Willow said as she tried to pull the book closer. Tara bent over and snatched the book out of her hands before Willow could stop her. "Tara, wait!" Willow begged suddenly.

Tara ignored her as she opened the book to the page Willow had marked. She read the title and just felt empty. "A lust removal spell?"

"That's right," Willow all but spat out. "You know what they're doing isn't right. All it is is lust, so I'm going to do what I couldn't do in high school and save them before it blows up in their faces. I can fix it all." Willow reached out to grab the book back.

Tara stepped out of Willow's reach and had to fight the urge to beat her ex-lover with the book. "You're not God, Will. You don't get to decide what's right and what isn't."

"Somebody has to be the adult around here."

"You're not the adult. You're just a spoiled brat with too much power." Tara went to the window for some air before she said something she'd regret. She took a few deep breaths and saw the threesome in question sitting on the bench outside. Even without magic she knew it was more than lust. The way that they held each other, watched out for each other proved that. How can Willow be so powerful but still miss it? She was just about to grab Willow and drag her to the window when she was shoved to the side. She turned and saw Amy glaring at her.

"You can't talk to her like that," Amy said, her voice was low and had an edge of power. "You're just jealous."

"No. I'm not," Tara said firmly. "Why are you going along with this? Buffy told me how she saved you from your mother. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Amy took a half step back as her anger melted. "No… I just wanted… I'm just trying…" She turned and looked at Willow. "Are you sure?"

"You're taking her side now?" Willow asked bitterly. "Why not, everyone else has."

"I'm not taking sides…" Amy said with a hint of hysteria in her voice. "I just don't want to see anyone get hurt."

"Buffy, it's Warren!" Xander shouted as he jumped to his feet. Buffy and Anya were both standing next to him a heartbeat later and staring at the intruder.

Warren swaggered through the bushes, one hand hidden in the pocket of his jacket. He didn't even notice Anya and Xander, he had eyes only for Buffy. "You think you can just do that to me? That I'd let you get away with it? Think again," He snarled at her as he pulled a pistol out of his pocket.

Buffy had started moving towards him while he was still ranting and was running even faster now that she saw the gun, but she knew she was already too late. She was barely halfway to him when Warren pulled the trigger. He looked almost as scared as Buffy when the gun went off. She felt the bullet go flying past her face and rustle her hair in the wind. Warren started to back up when he realized he missed and fired two more times. The second bullet missed, but the third didn't.

Buffy screamed as the bullet hit her in her left arm just below the shoulder and spun her around. Everything went red as she hit the ground. Warren was so freaked he didn't notice, he just kept firing as he turned to run away. He fired the last shot high into the air behind him.

Tara heard the glass break and saw the blood splatter across Willow's shirt and face.

"You're shirt," Amy said to her girlfriend in silent wonder as blood poured out of the hole in her heart. Then her eyes closed and collapsed.

"Amy?" Willow's voice cracked as she crawled over and hugged the dead girl to her like if she could get Amy close enough she'd wake up again. "No, Amy! Get up! Please get up! Please!" She begged as tears flowed from her eyes. Tara stood there and watched, frozen in silent horror

Buffy whimpered as she sat up and clamped her right hand over the ragged hole in her left arm. Her stomach lurched when she felt her sticky, warm blood flow between her fingers. At least she couldn't feel any pain. Thank God for shock and other small favors, she thought to herself and almost giggled.

"Anya? Xander?" She said between clenched teeth as she turned. Xander was laying half on and half off of Anya's legs. At first Buffy thought he was covering her, then she realized that they weren't moving.

"Not funny," Buffy said as she tried to stand up, but her knees wouldn't support her and she fell back down into the dirt. In the end she dragged herself over to the two of them. She let go of her wound and flipped Xander off of Anya and onto his back.

"No," Buffy whispered when she saw the blood that stained the stomach of his beige shirt red. "Anya! Xander's hurt!" She shouted, but Anya didn't move. She just stared up at the sun and kept blinking her eyes like there was something in them as blood welled up through a hole in her blouse, right above her heart.

"No, please, God, no," Buffy whispered as she looked at the two people she loved and tried to decide who she had to help first. Anya was bleeding the worst, so Buffy crawled over and jammed her good hand over Anya's injury.

"Somebody help me!" Buffy screamed at the house. "Please…"


End file.
